Policy Forum 

# Last Dictatorship in Europe — Cosponsored by the Atlas Foundation 

Political and Economic Repression in Belarus

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Date and Time 

April 25, 2006 4 - 5:45 PM EDT 

Location 

1st floor/Wintergarden 

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##### Featuring 

Featuring **Jaroslav Romanchuk,** Deputy Chairman, United Civic Party of Belarus; with comments by **Anders Aslund,** Senior Fellow, Institute for International Economics; and moderator **Marian Tupy,** Assistant Director, Project on Global Economic Liberty, Cato Institute. 

Belarus attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Since he took power in 1994, however, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has cracked down on his opponents and rigged successive elections. Today, Belarus lacks basic political freedoms, including the freedoms of the press, association, and expression. The Belarusian economy continues to be run according to the discredited socialist principle of central planning. Jaroslav Romanchuk, a prominent Belarusian opposition figure, and Anders Aslund, renowned specialist in post-Soviet economics, will discuss the state of political and economic freedom in Belarus and the role that Russia plays in keeping Lukashenko in power. Please join us for a discussion of life under what the State Department and the European Union have called “the last dictatorship in Europe.”

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